What oil should i use???

[MaxPowers_68]

Im doing an oil change tomm (going with synthetic) and im not sure what oil to go with 5-30, 10-30... what?The car is a 92, has about 120,000 miles on it and i live in down south in florida so it tends to be hot all year around. Thanks.

[MaxPowers_68]

Alittle help would be nice.

[MaxPowers_68]

Great help guys dont all jump at once.

[Maxpen]

This will be way too late for your 01-04-04 oil change, but for the next one, use the 5W30 synthetic. You will get a slight increase in gas mileage with the low 5 weight vice the 10. If your not into changing the oil every 3K or 3 months, check out Amsoil. With their oil bath air filter and oil filters, they guarentee no problems with 25K miles or one year oil changes, oil filter change at 12k miles or 6 months. You must follow their directions, however. I have been using their products with the extended change cycles for 20 years in our vehicles without any problems.

[madmax40965]

That is crazy. In Florida where it is warm you would want to use
10w30. Man it is in the owners manual. Read it. As for the syn. whatever floats your boat.Supposedly you can go longer between oil changes with them , but I will stick with my regular dino oil.
Other than that use whichever you feel comfortable with.
Brand doesn't matter as long as you use the weight the manual calls for.
Been using my dino oil for 30 years no problems. In short use what you want, you can't go wrong......except reconditioned oil...lol....then you are on your own.

[Experianced2]

That car has enough miles on it so that a 10W-30 might be just right. A 5W would be good to but the consumption will be greater.

Amsoil is just another oil sold by a pyrimid distribution network. If the price of the Amsoil is competative then use it. I would not extend my drain intervals however. If something goes wrong with the engine you may not catch it.

[FordInPossession]

Amsoil is not jsut some other oil.... it's the only 100% synthetic oil on the market and is usually competitively priced with Mobil 1 which is tested to be only 54% synthetic. Oil consumption will go down when using a Full Synthetic, but you may experience new leaks as the Synthetic oils are more slippery... I use AMSOIL in the engine, Tranny and Rear Axle of my Merc and have never had problems.

[Samurai0]

Originally Posted by FordInPossession

Amsoil is not jsut some other oil.... it's the only 100% synthetic oil on the market and is usually competitively priced with Mobil 1 which is tested to be only 54% synthetic. Oil consumption will go down when using a Full Synthetic, but you may experience new leaks as the Synthetic oils are more slippery... I use AMSOIL in the engine, Tranny and Rear Axle of my Merc and have never had problems.

And...how long have you been using the synthetic oil for?

Another reason why your car may be running at the 21 mpg you claimed in the "Glass Packs" topic. I use Valvoline 10w-40 in the winter, and 10w-30 in the summer. If your car is a low mileage car, go ahead and use the synthetic stuff. And the rear differential in the '87 merc is sealed anyway. No fill.

But I recommend using the organic oil, because it works, it's cheaper, and won't cause your gaskets to leak since it lubricates them.

I know that whole oil company 3,000 mile thing is bogus anyway. The SJ-rated oils are good for 4,000 - 5,000 miles, in daily driving.

If synthetic oil is so much better, why do new cars/engines require the "break-in" period with organic oil?

[Maxpen]

Engines coming from the factory with petroleum lubricants, require break-in because they are designed with different tolerances, piston fitting and finished machining. The engines of the Corvettes and others that come factory equipped with synthetics, do not require the break-in because they are machined better. Petroleum products simply are not up to the standard of Amsoil, and neither are the other "so-called" synthetics on the market.
Don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself.

[Fedexjetmx]

Hello Just my two-cent worth. If your car has been relatively well maintained. You should have no problem using "Synthetic" oil. However if you have any oil leaks it will increase, not because synthetics don’t lubricate seals and gaskets...(without going in to molecular crap) they are just basically more slippery. Heres where I don’t want to step on any ones toes.All "automotive engine oils" that say Full synthetic are actually ultra cleaned, aditived, and chemically enhanced. That synthetic word got Castrol sued by Mobil, in that the courts looked at all the molecular make up and sided with Castrol concluding that the use of "Fully Synthetic" is more a automotive Oil industry term.Although... Amsoil, Mobil1, and Royal Purple are all classified as class 5 lubricants; all the rest automotive oils are class 4 or lower.The reason I keep saying "automotive oil" is because I am an aircraft mechanic, if you want "real synthetic" oil, go to any oil distributor and order a qt of either Mobil254,Exxon2380, or BPturbine oil. It's extremely difficult to get off your hands and has a distinctive smell.And the reason auto manufacturers want you to use reg dino oil is to seat the rings and are bearing surfaces inside the engines prior to using synthetic.And cars that come factory with synthetic have already been "broken in

[Maxpen]

If I understand the last post correctly, it is saying synthetic products, even those labeled 100% synthetic, actually have petroleum in them?

Here is how Amsoil defines their 100% synthetic oil:

What are AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oils?

AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants are fuel efficient, extended life lubricants manufactured from select synthetic base stocks and special purpose additives. These lubricants provide improved overall performance characteristics when compared to conventional petroleum oils.

Their blend is described as such:

What are AMSOIL Synthetic Blend Motor Oils?

AMSOIL Synthetic Blend Motor Oils are a blend of synthetic fluids and petroleum oils. They are combined to form an all season motor oil that demonstrates many of the performance features of synthetic lubricants.

Regards

[Fedexjetmx]

Hello again I’ll apologize now for such a long post but I feel very strongly about this subject.There is that special word “100% synthetic” Yes the 100% synthetic you buy for your car is made with a petroleum base in it. I’m not sure how much maybe as little as 15 to 20% but, it is in there. Amsoil’s phrase “manufactured from select synthetic base stocks”, the word synthetic is a industry “term” no a “ fact” , and “base stocks” is actually petroleum base oil. And if you go to Mobil’s web site they even tell you so. The synthetic part comes from the fact it is so highly purified and has so many and much additives to it. ( I’ll try not to get to long winded about this subject, I myself use “synthetic”, Mobil 1 and used Castrol for many years until I found Out Castrol is only a class 4 and Mobil 1 is a class 5 but so is Amsoil and Royal Purple but Mobil’s cheaper and can get it virtually anywhere).Because true synthetic oil isn’t new, it’s been around since at least the 50s. Turbine engines used on aircraft require true synthetic oil. And still true synthetic is only about 5 to 15 weight and the long molecules required to increase its weight to 30,40 or 50 wt would be sheared or broken down as it was pumped through the extremely close tolerances of the bearing surfaces of the rod, main and cam bearings at 30-60 psi and end up with only about 5-15 wt oil after about 15 to 30 min of running the engine. Aircraft engines use roller bearings so their oiling requirements are more towards cooling than suspension. Again I am an aircraft mechanic. There are just a few manufactories of true synthetic oil, in the US there are I think three Mobil, Exxon and BP. That is why Mobil sued Casrol. Mobil claimed Castrol was basically misleading people when they sell their “100% Fully Synthetic” oil , because Mobil does make a true synthetic for turbine engines, so they know what its molecular basics are. But by the same token, Mobil’s automotive “100% synthetic” oil wasn’t the same as their Aircraft oil, but they felt it was closer to real synthetic than Castrol….I guess. This lawsuit was back before all the other brands started coming out with their version of synthetic oil. Because up until this point Amsoil, Mobil and Castrol were I believe the only people to provide the public with synthetic oil for your car. Once the dust had settled in then court case, the court basically said that the phrase “100% full synthetic” was a automotive oil industry “TERM” not a “ FACT”. I think because They (Mobil) Casrtol and Amsoil all used the same basic term 100% full synthetic, and buy looking at the actual chemical make-up of their oils and since Mobil does make true synthetic oil for the aviation industry and it wasn’t the same as their automotive oil it must be a term phrase not a fact phrase.( I personally think Mobil screwed themselves I think they felt threatened by Casrol gaining to much market share and Amsoil was still a little obscure company they weren’t worried about).So with the conclusion of that court ruling all the other oil companies said if they can do it so can we, and the flood gates of mass synthetic oil for your car marketing began. Here is an interesting web site that is doing their own little comparison of the major automotive synthetic oils. http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/s.../oil-life.html

[Fedexjetmx]

Sorry about the bad link
heres a working link http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/s.../oil-life.html

[Maxpen]

No apology needed. Thanks for the rundown on the "terms".

Regards.

[Maxpen]

After my last post of (3-07-04)which was in reply the post immediately before that of (3-07-04), my curiosity was peaked. So this morning I emailed Amsoil and asked the following question: Specifically, does the Amsoil 100% synthetic have any petroleum in it, or is it truly 100% synthetic?
The following is their reply: The aircraft mechanic is not correct and it is a very long story. You see group III base stocks can now be legally called synthetics, when in fact they are actually very highly refined (hydro cracked) petroleum products. Group IV synthetics (AMSOIL) however are PAO (Polyalphaolefin) base stocks, and they are chemically manufactured and are NOT petroleum. Should anyone wish further information on this subject contact Ed Kellerman, Manager, Amsoil Tech Services, ICML MLT, at: [email protected].